1984: More than just the title of an Orwell novel. The year was crucial for the development of heavy metal, establishing both thrash and power metal as more than mere microcosms. Meanwhile, the titans of the genre continue to grow bigger than ever, raking in platinum record sales, sold out tours, and extensive airplay on both rock radio and MTV. And in what may be the greatest comeback of all time, a sleeping giant of the 70s awakens from a nearly decade long slumber to conquer a new generation of headbangers. All that and more in our Top 10 Metal Albums of 1984.
10. Cirith Ungol – King of the Dead
Our list begins with a rather obscure masterpiece, Cirith Ungol’s King of the Dead. Although they are now collectively worshipped by just about everyone within the metal underground, this wasn’t always the case. No, once upon a time, Cirith Ungol’s colossally epic and devastatingly doom laden brand of metal was an acquired taste among only the most metal of maniacs. There was no way Tim Baker’s bloodcurdling shrieks would find their way onto FM rock radio airwaves alongside the croons of Klaus Meine. That was exactly the point. It was the “kvlt” ethos years before that twerp Euronymous came along and tried to co-opt it. King of the Dead is undoubtedly Cirith Ungol’s finest hour. The vast composition and atmosphere of “Atom Smasher”, “Master of the Pit”, and “Cirith Ungol” are enough to leave the most hardened of warriors shaking in their boots. It’s as epic, arcane, and true of an album as one could ask for.
9. Metallica – Ride the Lightning
Metallica’s progression from Kill ‘Em All to Ride the Lightning wasn’t a mere hop, skip, and jump. It was a quantum leap. The band’s musicianship and songwriting abilities grew tenfold, as demonstrated by lengthy, conceptual cuts like “Creeping Death” and “Fade to Black”, the latter being panned as a “wimp-out” upon release. If “Fade to Black” is a wimp-out, so is Judas Priest’s “Beyond the Realms of Death”, Iron Maiden’s “Children of the Damned”, and Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman”, but I digress. Ride the Lightning isn’t completely devoid of the short, sharp shock that dominated Kill ‘Em All (“Fight Fire with Fire”, “Trapped Under Ice”), but the punky amateurism has been replaced by a newfound industrial strength confidence and gripping production courtesy of Flemming Rasmussen. On subsequent releases, Metallica would shift gears more towards the lengthy, progressive compositions first explored here, before settling for middle of the road metal/hard rock outright come their self titled 1991 album. Ride the Lightning is a finely tuned balance of the band Metallica was and the band they’d become. One could call it…lightning in a bottle.
8. Dio – The Last in Line
After investing his entire life savings on his debut full length, Holy Diver, Dio went double or nothing on its follow up, The Last in Line. Released in the summer of 1984, The Last in Line went gold a few months later. It spawned three rock radio hits: “We Rock”, “Mystery”, and the unforgettable title track that featured a video directed by horror master Don Coscarelli (Phantasm). Musically, The Last in Line is an even stronger outing than Holy Diver. Vivian Campbell unleashes ferocious riffs and solos like it’s nobody’s business, while Dio “sings his heart out” (no pun intended…I swear). Lyrically, the album is more or less a continuation of Holy Diver, showcasing Dio’s signature brand of sword and sorcery fantasy with an 80s twist. Example: If a metal band wanted to sing about driving fast, they’d simply do so, rehashing the same lyrical tropes explored on 70s standards “Highway Star” and “Radar Love”. Not Dio. He refused to do such a song without injecting a much needed dose of vibrant imagery.
“Dark touches send rushed through the brain
Black’s whiter, burns brighter than the flame
No shadows, just whispers in the wind
No faces, just places to begin
I just come seeking pleasure, I hate the light
I speed at night”
Take that Sammy Hagar.
7. Bathory – Bathory
There’s no way to divide a room of metalheads faster than asking, “Who was the first black metal band?” Some will make the case for Venom, who established the name on their 1982 album, but laid down the groundwork for the music and lyrical themes a year earlier on their debut, Welcome to Hell. Others will namedrop Hellhammer, whose riffs and atmosphere on their 1984 EP, Apocalyptic Raids, was substantially darker than Venom, thanks to the nihilistic genius of Tom G. Warrior. Other names that could possibly be brought up are Sodom, Slayer, 666, and even Mercyful Fate. However, the first band that can undisputedly be called black metal is Bathory. Sure, there’s thrash and crust scattered throughout their self titled 1984 debut album. Look no further than “Reaper”, “Armageddon”, and “Sacrifice”. That said, Bathory is so filthy, infernal, and primitive. It makes Discharge and Metallica sound quaint in comparison. Little did the world know this album would mark the beginning of a new metal dynasty.
6. Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers
“Destiny brought them together. Again.” That’s what the promotional poster for Deep Purple’s comeback album, Perfect Strangers, reads. As great of a tagline as that is, it wasn’t really “destiny”, but rather a combination of factors that brought Purple back together. Jon Lord and Ian Paice grew tired of Whitesnake’s failure to break into the American market (little did they know what 1987 would bring). Ian Gillan folded his namesake band for the same reason. As for Roger Glover and Ritchie Blackmore, well, despite Rainbow being at their commercial peak, Blackmore had grown bored with them the same way he grew bored with Purple a decade earlier. So he probably told Glover something along the lines of, “Come on lad! Time to get the old band back together!” To this day, Perfect Strangers remains the golden standard for reunion albums. It doesn’t sound at all like a band of middle aged Englishmen, but rather as fresh and fired up as any hard rock or metal band formed within the same timeframe. Furthermore, “Knockin’ at Your Back Door” will forever be the greatest song about *ahem* “butt stuff” ever written.
5. Metal Church – Metal Church
While listening to Metal Church’s self titled debut, one might ask, “What is this? Thrash metal? Power metal? Good ol’ fashioned heavy metal?” It’s all three and then some. And it’s absolute perfection. There’s something about Metal Church that gives me goosebumps every listen. Perhaps it’s the wicked lyrics and musicianship of “Metal Church”. Or the grand epic that is “God of Wrath”. Or the thrashing insanity of “Hitman”. Or their flawless cover of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” (the greatest Purple cover, mind you). There is not a dull moment to be found on Metal Church. Between the scorching vocals of David Wayne, intense twin riffing of Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells, locked in rhythm section of bassist Duke Erickson and drummer Kirk Arrington, Metal Church put close to every American metal band to shame in 1984.
4. Iron Maiden – Powerslave
We got a lot of heat for keeping Piece of Mind reserved to the “honorable mentions” section of our 1983 list. Hopefully our inclusion of Powerslave at #4 will make up for such an injustice. While Piece of Mind served as Maiden’s first full scale journey into the land of prog, Powerslave scaled things back to their NWOBHM heyday. There’s no shortage of proginess to be found on extensive suites like the title track and the nearly 14 minute “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. However, “Aces High”, “Back in the Village”, and “Flash of the Village” recall the high speed savagery of The Number of the Beast and even the Di’Anno albums. It’d be the last time we’d hear the “old Maiden” before they went full prog ahead on Powerslave‘s follow up, Caught Somewhere in Time (1986).
3. W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P.
Although seldom represented on this list, 1984 was a banner year for glam metal, pop metal, mainstream metal, or whatever the hell you wanna call it. Among the blockbuster releases were Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, Dokken’s Tooth and Nail, Whitesnake’s Slide it In, Scorpions’ Love at First Sting, and Van Halen’s 1984, just to name a few. But the one release that trumps them all is the one that most hesitate to label “glam metal” to begin with. Why? Because if W.A.S.P.’s self titled debut is a glam metal album, it’s the ugliest glam metal album of them all. Despite its unrelenting heaviness, I for one do consider this to be a glam metal release, if only for its perverse bastardization of Slade/Sweet fashioned choruses alone (i.e. “L.O.V.E. Machine”, “The Flame”, “School Daze”). The melodies and hooks are present. The similarities end there. The riffing of Chris Holmes and Randy Piper is somehow as evil sounding as the riffs present on Bathory’s debut. The only thing more sinister are the sex crazed, pseudo-satanic ramblings of Blackie Lawless, touching on torture, lust, hell, and everything in between. No wonder Tipper Gore invented that gosh-darned explicit label.
2. Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith
You knew this was gonna make the list. It’s only the site’s namesake for crying out loud. You’re probably just surprised it isn’t #1. If this were any other year, it would be. My personal favorite Judas Priest album (surprise), Defenders of the Faith expanded upon the mainstream metal leanings of its predecessor, Screaming for Vengeance. Song doctor Bob Halligan Jr. returned to pen the arena anthem, “Some Heads are Gonna Roll”. Priest themselves proved they could hold down this fort just fine with the inclusion of the seductively poppy “Love Bites” and a nocturnal AOR ballad in “Night Comes Down”. When they aren’t flirting with the idea of becoming a full blown pop metal band, Priest unleashes their signature euro metal assault on ragers like “Freewheel Burning”, “Jawbreaker”, “Eat Me Alive”, and my favorite Priest song of all time, “The Sentinel”. Defenders of the Faith is the mediator between Priest’s steely past and hairsprayed future *shudders*.
- Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break the Oath
For the second year in a row, Mercyful Fate holds the title for heavy metal heavyweight champions of the world, and for good reason. As the world was just recovering from the infernal strike that was Melissa, Mercyful Fate retaliated with a collection of songs so wicked, unholy, and downright diabolical, the devil himself shuddered in fear. Everything about Don’t Break the Oath is terrifying: the lyrics, the vocals, the riffs, the atmosphere, the twists and turns. Yet like a musical forbidden fruit, the metal faithful took a hearty bite of what was being served. What more could Mercyful Fate have accomplished had they stuck together? Probably nothing that would compare to this album. They knew the only way to go out was on top and they did so. Despite their brief initial run, the unholy trinity of the Mercyful Fate EP, Melissa, and Don’t Break the Oath remains untouchable to this day.
“If you say Heaven, I say a castle of lies
You say forgive him, I say revenge
My sweet Satan, you are the one”
Honorable Mentions
- Armored Saint – March of the Saint
- Jag Panzer – Ample Destruction
- Omen – Battle Cry
- Queensrÿche – The Warning
- Running Wild – Gates to Purgatory